The Last Dragonborn
by SimonStormcloak
Summary: [CLOSED] One of my first Skyrim fanfics. I've improved a lot since this, so check out it's reboot, legends of the frost, and don't judge too harshly.
1. Helgen

**Thanks to DraGGonized for reading and reviewing!**

"Hey you, you're finally awake," said a voice as I woke.  
"Huh?"  
I looked up to see another Nord sitting in front of me. Right away, I noticed that we were on a carriage.  
"W-where are we?" I asked. I was still dazed after what had happened last night. My brother Jonvar had invited me to visit him in Riften last month. I had been with my friends in my carriage driving towards Riften when the Ambush happened. A bunch of Imperial Soldiers had jumped out of the bush and killed my friends. I was captured, and thrown into a different carriage. That was when I passed out. They probably assumed we were stormcloaks. I just hoped I could explain what happened to me, and that they would let me go. Boy, was I wrong.  
"You were captured," The Nord said, "Along with me and that thief over there." I looked to my right and saw another Nord. Then I noticed that the First Nord was wearing Stormcloak armor. "Damn you Stormcloaks," The thief said, "Everything was fine until you came along. Empire was nice and Lazy. If they hadn't been looking for you, I could have stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell!" By then, my vision was all cleared up. I saw that the thief had a stocky build, brown hair, and was wearing tattered clothes. The Stormcloak was very muscular, with long blonde hair and a rough beard.  
"We're all brothers and sisters in binds now, thief." The Stormcloak said. The thief looked at me and said:  
"You and me, we shouldn't be here. It's these Stormcloaks the Empire wants."  
"You're absolutely right." I answered. "I'm completely innocent. But didn't you steal a horse?"  
"Well, yes. But if I'm on a cart with a bunch of Stormcloaks, there's bound to be trouble. I'll just get more than I deserve. If I steal a horse, I should be in prison a few days, yeah. But wherever there's Stormcloaks, there's-"  
"Shut up back there!" Said the driver of the carriage.  
"What's his problem, huh?" The thief nodded to a man with dirty blond hair, a fur cloak and a gag in his mouth.  
"Watch your tongue!" The Stormcloak said, "You're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true high king!"  
"Ulfric, you're the leader of the rebellion! If they've captured you... Oh gods, where are they taking us?"  
"I don't know... but Sovngarde awaits."  
"No, this can't be happening. This isn't happening!"  
The carriage passed through gates to a small village with lots of Imperial Guards.  
The Stormcloak looked at a tall man with gray hair and golden armor with a red cape on a horse talking to two Altmer.  
"Look at him," The Stormcloak said. "General Tullius, the military Governor. And it looks like the Thalmor are with him too. Damn elves, I bet they had something to do with this."  
A little bit of silence passed, then the Stormcloak said "Hey, what village are you from, Horse-thief?"  
The thief replied, "Why do you care?"  
"A Nord's last thoughts... should be of home."  
After I took a look around, I finally said: "Like I said before, where are we?"  
"This is Helgen," The Stormcloak replied. "I used to be sweet on a girl here. Wonder if Vilod is still making that mead with Juniper berries mixed in. Funny, when I was a boy, Imperial walls and towers made me feel so safe."  
I saw a boy sitting on the porch of his house, talking to his father, who, as the Stormcloak said, was named Torolf.  
"Time to come inside little cub."  
"But Papa, I want to watch the soldiers!"  
"Get inside...now."  
"Fine."  
Suddenly the carriage stopped against a wall.  
An Imperial Captain yelled "Get these prisoners out of the cart!"  
"Why are we stopping?" The thief said, worried.  
"What do you think?" The Stormcloak said. "End of the line. Come on, we shouldn't keep the gods waiting.  
As we got out of the carriage, my legs wobbled a bit, then I collapsed.  
"Easy there," said a Nord in Imperial Armor. "You haven't walked in a while, I presume." He helped me up just as the thief was getting out of the cart, saying "You've got to tell them, we weren't with you!"  
"Face your death with some courage, thief." The Stormcloak said.  
"Alright," The Nord said. "Step over to the block when we call your name." He motioned to a bloody stone slab in front of a Tower, where there were some villagers and a Priestess of Arkay.  
"Imperial love their damn lists." said the Stormcloak.  
"Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm." The Nord called.  
As I watched the gagged Jarl of Windhelm walk towards the chopping block, the Stormcloak said:  
"It has been an Honor, Jarl Ulfric!"  
"Ralof, of Riverwood."  
The Stormcloak, Ralof, walked over to the block, grumbling.  
"Lokir, of Rorikstead."  
The horse-thief stepped forward and said,  
"No, I'm not a Rebel, you can't do this!" He started to run.  
"Halt!" said the Imperial Captain. But Lokir kept going.  
"ARCHERS!" The Captain yelled.  
"You're not going to kill me!" Lokir shouted. I almost thought he would make it... Until he was pelted by arrows.  
The Imperial Captain turned to me and said "Anyone else feel like running?"  
I shook my head quickly. Then the Nord Imperial spoke up.  
"You, get over here."  
I walked up to him and said "Yes?"  
"Who are you?"  
"T-Torgen, of Elinhir."  
"A Nord from Hammerfell? You don't find that very often. You aren't on the list. What's your story?"  
"I was on a carriage to Riften to visit my brother when I was attacked by some Imperial soldiers who thought we were Stormcloaks. I acted calm, because I knew that if I explain to someone, they might let me go. I'm Innocent."  
"Don't worry, I believe you." He turned to the Captain and said "I think he's telling the truth. We should let him go. Maybe-"  
The Captain interrupted him. "Are you out of your mind, Hadvar? How do you know he's not lying? He could be spying for the Stormcloaks! Why do think he's not the list?"  
"But Captain-"  
"Forget the list. He goes to the block."  
Hadvar sighed and said "By your orders Captain."  
He turned to me. "I'm sorry. We'll make sure your remains are returned to Hammerfell."  
I decided to say more.  
"I have a family in Dragonstar. If you could send me there, they'd appreciate it."  
"I will."  
The Imperial Captain said "Come on!" and walked towards the crowd, where everyone else was. I followed.  
General Tullius was standing in front of Ulfric.  
"Ulfric Stormcloak. Some here in Helgen call you a Hero. But a Hero doesn't use a power like the voice to MURDER his king and USURP his throne!"  
Ulfric grunted.  
"You started this war, and threw Skyrim into chaos. Now the Empire's going to put you down, and restore the peace!"  
Just then there was a strange sound coming from the sky, like a distant, medium-pitched roar.  
"What was that?" Hadvar asked.  
"It's nothing," General Tullius answered. "Carry on."  
"Yes, General Tullius!" The Captain said. She turned to the Priestess of Arkay. "Give them their last rites." She said.  
The Priestess started talking.  
"As we commend your souls to Aetherius, blessings of the Eight Divines upon you, for you are the Salt and Earth of Nirn, our beloved-"  
A Stormcloak interrupted. "For the love of Talos, SHUT UP and let's get this over with!"  
"As you wish."  
The Stormcloak stepped over to the block.  
"Come on, I haven't got all morning!"  
The Captain pushed him down.  
The headsman raised his axe.  
"My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperials. Can you say the same?"  
Those were his last words.  
His head rolled off, into the basket.  
One voice said: "You Imperial Bastards!"  
Vilod yelled "JUSTICE!"  
Ingrid said "Death to the Stormcloaks!"  
Ralof said "As fearless in death as he was in life."  
The Captain shouted "Next, the Nord in the rags!"  
Then the roar came again.  
"There it is again. Did you hear that?"  
"I said, NEXT PRISONER!"  
Hadvar shot a sorry look at me.  
"Alright, prisoner. To the block. Nice and easy."  
I walked towards the block, trying to act calm. But by the time I had gotten there, I had broken out in sobs.  
It was all over, I knew it. They were going to kill me, kill Ralof, kill Ulfric, and end the Rebellion. Stupid Elves were going to rule the world. It can't get any worse, I thought.  
Then the Dragon attacked.

**Thanks for reading, please review!**


	2. Unbound

ent

When I was a child back in Elinhir, my father told me tales about Tiber Septim, or as he called him, Ysmir, and how he conquered Tamriel with his voice. I knew that Tiber Septim was the first Emperor, and that he ascended into godhood, but I never really understood that part about the voice, or as father called it, a Thu'um. Now I did.

It came out of nowhere, flew across the mountains and landed on the tower.  
"Sentries, what do you see?" Said the Captain.  
Everyone drew their swords. One Imperial cut a Stormcloak's binding loose and gave him a spare sword.  
"DRAGON!" One of the Stormcloaks yelled.  
The headsman was so suprised he fell down. He got back up, but then the dragon yelled,  
"Yol Toor...SHUUUUUUUL!" Breathing fire on the 'Shuul'. The headsman fell down. It shouted something else, but I couldn't figure out what it said. Flaming rocks fell from the sky, and a pile of wood fell on me.  
"Guards, get the townspeople to-" General Tullius shouted before the Dragon killed his horse and made him fall down.  
Suddenly, the wood was lifted off of me.  
"Hey, Kinsman! Get up! Come on, the gods won't give us another chance!" Ralof the Stormcloak pulled me up, and dragged me, half-conscious, towards the tower. Once we were in, Ralof closed the door, and before me stood Ulfric Stormcloak, Ungagged. I noticed he had a beard, which made him look older.  
"Jarl Ulfric," Ralof said, "What is that thing? Could the legends be true?"  
Ulfric responded with a more brave tone. "Legends don't burn down villages." Such heroic words yet so little time.  
"We've got to move. Now!" Ulfric shouted over the sound of destruction.  
"Let's go! Up through the tower!" Ralof said to me. We ran up the stairs and found another Stormcloak, saying "We just need to move some of these rocks to clear the-"  
The wall burst open and the dragon shouted "Yol Toor Shuuuuuuul!"  
On 'Shuul', a gout of flames came out of his head. Ralof tumbled down the stairs. The dragon flew away and Ralof came back up the stairs.  
Pointing to the hole in the wall, he said "See that Inn on the other side? Jump through the roof and keep going!"  
"Jump through the wall? Are you crazy?"  
"Go! We'll follow when we can!"  
I grunted and jumped through the wall and into the Inn. It was an amazing feat. Im alive, I thought. Then I saw the blood on my leg. Oh gods... I broke my right leg. I limped downstairs and saw the friendly Nord Imperial (Hadvar, was it?) trying to get the child Haming to take cover. On the ground lay Torolf, bloody and defeated.  
"Haming, you need to get over here, NOW!"  
Haming finally listened to Hadvar and took cover behind the broken house with him. Just in time, for the Dragon had landed and yelled 'Yol Toor Shuul'.  
"Oh gods, everyone get back!" I took notice that there was an old man in Iron Armor with Hadvar and Haming. The fire from the Dragon killed poor Torolf.  
"Gunnar, take care of the boy!" said Hadvar. "I need to find General Tullius and join the defense!"  
"Gods guide you, Hadvar." Said the Old Man.  
"Still alive, prisoner?" Said Hadvar. "Stick close to me if you want to stay that way!" We ran past Torolf's corpse, behind a house.  
"Stick close to the wall!" At that moment, the Dragon pegged one of his wings into the ground and burned an Imperial Soldier. The Dragon flew away and we ran to the gate. General Tullius was leading the defence. I saw Vilod and Ingrid on the ground, but not dead. Thank the Gods for that. Tullius yelled at Hadvar,  
"Into the keep, soldier! We're leaving!"  
"It's just you and me, prisoner. Keep moving!"  
"I don't think so." said a voice from behind me.  
Ulfric Stormcloak stood, axe in hand and covered in blood.  
"Follow me, Torgen."  
I immediately complied. I ran with Ulfric down into the keep, and I met with Ralof and another Stormcloak.  
"Jarl Ulfric," I said. "How do you know my name?"  
"Well," he replied. "When I was in the legion, I-"  
Just then, the top of the keep collapsed and rubble covered both doors.  
"Shor's bones..."  
Ulfric took his axe and sawed off my bindings. Ralof handed me a sword.  
"Here. Gunjar, follow me. Jarl Stormcloak, lead the way!"  
Ulfric led us to the gate, where Imperials where fighting the Dragon. He told us to stand back and he yelled;  
"Fus... RO DAH!"  
He blasted the gate down while the soldiers ran for cover.  
"What was that?" said Tullius.  
"The Thu'um. A blessing of Talos." replied Ulfric.  
"You stupid Nord... TALOS DOES NOT EXIST!"  
Me and the Stormcloaks ran through to gates and ran for our lives. Once we had run a fair distance, I turned around and saw Helgen, by now a smoking pile of rubble. The Dragon flew away and I turned to Ulfric.  
"Where to?"  
"You should go to Riverwood with Ralof. I'm returning to Windhelm with Gunjar to make sure everything's alright."  
"Okay. Let's go."


	3. Swapping Stories

**Thanks ****_so_**** much to DraGGonized for writing his awesome stories and reviewing mine.**

Me and Ralof traveled along the ruined road.  
"That was some creature," he said. "I wonder if Hadvar made it."  
"Maybe." Come to think, I hadn't seen Hadvar since he told me to come along. He might have been killed by the Dragon, but I wasn't sure.  
"Maybe the dragon killed Tullius."  
"That would be a blessing. But I think that he probably escaped."  
We ran along, talking about life and such matters. By nightfall, we were about halfway along the road, roasting some rabbit in a campfire. Ralof told stories about Draugr, undead nords who killed anyone they saw. I told him about growing up in Elinhir, and how I came to Skyrim.  
"You came home." he said.  
"Just because I'm a Nord doesn't mean I can't be from Skyrim."  
"Where's your family from?"  
"All over Tamriel. We originate in High Rock, but then my early ancestors traveled to Morrowind, then Skyrim, that's where my Nord heritage starts, and lived in Valenwood for a short time. My Great-Grandparents lived in Summerset Isles until the end of the Oblivion Crisis. Afterwords, they moved to Hammerfell, where they started a family in Dragonstar. My mother moved to Elinhir when she was a young woman. There she met my father, a miner from Skyrim. I lived in Elinhir until now. I have no contact with my family and I can't risk to go across the borders again."  
"A family of Nomads, eh?" Ralof said. "My family doesn't have much history. We originate from Markarth, but most of my family is from Riverwood. I grew up there with my sister Gerdur. Hadvar was one of my best friends, you know? Until after the great war. When I joined the Stormcloaks and he went Imperial, things changed. We became rivals. A house divided can not stand. Mark my words, some day the war will end. Which side will win, I do not know. Nor do I know if I will survive. I just hope that we can bring this conflict to an end. I don't want to lose the empire, but I don't want it to be a puppet of the thalmor."  
I nodded in agreement and took another swig of mead.  
"Elves really aren't that bad. My best friend in Elinhir was a Bosmer, and occasionally I got to see my Altmer friend in Sentinel."  
"Why do you call them 'Bosmer' and 'Altmer'? Why not refer to them by their common name? Wood Elves and High Elves. It's much easier."  
"When you live in Hammerfell, you learn that using correct terms for names really helps. A Bosmer may take offense at being called a 'Wood-Elf', so we natives refer to them by their true name."  
"It's almost eleven. We should get some sleep if we want to make it to Riverwood tomorrow.  
**Sorry for the really short chapter, but I'm planning something ****_huge_**** soon.**

**Please Review!**


	4. Riverwood, among other things

**I'm very sorry for the****_ very_**** long wait. Thanks to DraGGonized and you, whoever you are. READ ON, SLAVE!**

The next morning we continued along the road until I saw a large stone temple across the river.  
"Ralof," I said. "What's that?"  
"The stone temple? Bleak Falls Barrow. Big for a barrow. Full of Draugr, it is."  
"That's what they say in Hammerfell. Except that all we got are ancient structures left to us by the Dwemer."  
"Must be hard to explore with all their creations."  
"What? No, There's not much in there. Just a few zombies and rats."  
"A zombie? What's that?"  
"Kind of like a Draugr. But no armor and no weapon. They're rotting corpses that moan and walk around. Lots of them in Cyrodill."  
"So... Not deadly then?"  
"Quite the contrary. They can punch and claw. Most adventurers can handle them, but I've seen a few running out with a few zombies after them. But the guards always put them down."  
"Let's keep going."  
We kept along the path, and eventually Ralof came to a stop.  
"These are the Guradian Stones." He said, pointing to three large tall stones, one with a carving of a wizard, another with a hooded man, and a man with a horned helmet and an axe.  
"That's the warrior, the thief, and the mage."  
"Oh, you mean like birthsigns?"  
"Huh?"  
"You know, the Tower, the Steed, the Atronach..."  
"Yeah, the stones! You put your hand on it, and you're given powers!"  
I was astonished. How did he not know about birthsigns?  
"Yeah. You're born under them, aren't they?" I said.  
"No..."  
"Of course! I was born under the Tower! What about you?"  
"Well, I was interested in magic when I was little, so I got the Mage, but now I'm a warrior. But you can only touch a stone once, so I'm stuck being a wizard with a sword.  
"So, pick your sign carefully. Or else you'll be stuck being a phoney forever."  
"Okay." I said.  
I walked over to the Warrior stone. I put my hand to it and...  
Nothing happened. No blinding white light or big blackout, nothing at all."  
"Hmm." Said Ralof. "If you're 'born under the Tower', maybe it just can't change it."  
"It's funny," I said, "How things change in different parts of the world."  
"Yeah, born to be Tower, I guess."  
Eventually we came to some stone and wood walls. Well, not really stone and wood, more like a little portion of a wall for people to get a view.  
"This is Riverwood." Ralof said. "A cozy little town on the border of Whiterun and Falkreath."  
"What hold is it actually in?" I asked.  
"Well, let's say right now I'm in Falkreath." He took a step into the town.  
"Now I'm in Whiterun." He said. "Come on, let's find Gerdur. She's my sister, owns the lumber mill with her husband Hod. Got a little child, too. Name's Frodnar."  
I took a look around and from what I saw, it was a pretty decent town. There was a Blacksmith shop to my left, General store to my right, and a little bit ahead there was an inn. In between the Inn and the Trader I could see a few houses. Right in front of the Smith to my left, there was a wooden path leading to the mill.  
"A Dragon! I saw a Dragon!"  
What? I turned to my right. In front of the Trader was a house with an old woman up front. A man with long dirty blonde hair and a muscular build went up to the woman.  
"What? What is now, Mother?"  
"I-It was as big as a house, and black as night! It flew right over the Barrow!" She saw it too? The man didn't seem to be showing any suprise.  
"Dragons now, is it? If you keep rambling on like this, everybody will think you're crazy."  
"Sven, I'm not lying! It roared and flew straight away! You didn't see it?"  
I was about to cut in when Ralof grabbed my arm.  
"Let's try not to draw any attention to ourselves, okay?"  
We went to the mill where there was a big man in a white tunic working the mill. Down below cutting wood was a blond woman in a green dress.  
"Gerdur!" Ralof said.  
She looked up.  
"Ralof! Why are you here? Are you on leave-"  
"Gerdur, Gerdur! We're fine. Is there someplace we can talk without being overheard?"  
"Ah, yes. Follow me."  
She led us to a tree stump, then turned and yelled to the man at the mill.  
"Hod, get over here!"  
"What is it woman? Sven drunk on the job again?"  
"Just get over here!"  
Hod looked down and was clearly suprised by what he saw.  
"Ralof! What are you doing here? Er, I'll be right down!"  
We waited awhile and Hod got over.  
"Now, Ralof." He said. "Why are you back?"  
Was there some family arguement? He didn't seem too friendly.  
"Yes," Gerdur said. "We heard Ulfric had been captured."  
Oh, they were just worried about him and Ulfric.  
"Sit down." He said. "It's a long story."

**I hope you liked it, and I'll try to get more chapters up soon. Goodbye for now!**


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